I do not own One Piece.
Mara Reade and several of the people she works with, however, are mine.
Stolen
Chapter 1: Boring Day
Trafalgar Law was a calm and relaxed kind of person. Unless engaged in either doctoring or fighting, he rarely bothered to be 'tense and ready' as other pirates would be accustomed to being. At the moment, he was strolling along the market of a rather boring little town.
Boring was a good term. Trafalgar Law was bored.
It wasn't completely uncommon for him to be such when nothing was going on, like it was now. Things were quiet. This dinky little island didn't even have a marine base, let alone a major opposing power to him.
But that being said, there was one vaguely interesting little thing going on. He was being followed. Now, he had no physical proof of this and in actuality was making a guess. He felt that it was a good guess.
There was an odd feeling in the air. An odd pressure that he had never felt before. It had been there since that morning but he had yet to find a cause. It wasn't quite enough to relieve his boredom, but it was enough to keep his attention.
When he looked around at the other people in the market, it was very clear that no one else felt it. Hell, even his crew hadn't felt it when it had first appeared that morning. It surprised him that even Bepo didn't notice it, with animal instincts as a factor.
Perhaps it was just going to storm. Maybe he was suddenly and inexplicably getting the ability to sense changes in the atmosphere. The sarcastic thought brought an equally sarcastic smile to his face. Yes, perhaps that was it.
The sub came into view as he approached the harbor. He could just make out the sun setting on the horizon directly behind it, casting an orange glow over the water and the yellow metal. The few crew members milling about the deck and around the dock didn't seem to be noticing anything odd as he approached.
What had he been expecting? All of them shifting uncomfortably? Looking to the sides warily, as if expecting some kind of attack? No, that was silly. And as he stepped into the submarine, he very nearly paused curiously.
The pressure was gone.
Just like that.
The curious sensation left him so suddenly he couldn't help but tilt his head to the side in thought, though he managed to not change his pace. He was now certain there was something off with this little town.
Dinner in the galley went by smoothly. In fact, his entire routine went by smoothly. The pressure did not reappear the entire time he was on the ship. When he sat down on his bed and pulled off his boots, he was contemplating going back out into the town just to see if it would start up again.
He clicked off his light and laid back on the his bed, crossing his legs as he hummed in thought. That's when it happened. The pressure reappeared so suddenly Law had to fight to keep his expression in its unconcerned, thoughtful way.
Where was it coming from? Idly, he tilted his head slightly to get a look at his door. It was shut tight, just as he had left it. Despite that, he was positive it had been opened in the last minute. If someone had asked, he wouldn't have been able to say why or how he knew that.
He just knew that it had.
With a casual air, he tilted his head back to the ceiling and closed his eyes. As if he hadn't noticed the sudden disturbance. And then he felt it move. The center of the pressure must have been too far away from him outside for him to feel it, but in the close quarters of his room he could feel in quite keenly.
It was moving near his bed. It didn't feel like it was coming at him. No, it felt like it was going to go past him. But it was moving within arms reach of him, should he feel the inclination to reach out and grab it.
As a matter of fact, he did feel the inclination. It was almost level with his head, having moved from the end where his feet were resting up his body, when he lashed out. The movement was so fast and unexpected that all the pressure could do was squeak in surprise as it was yanked to him.
At the same time, he rolled his body and pulled it, effectively trapping it beneath him against his mattress. He was surprised at the feel of soft skin beneath his fingers, and even though he had small hands they wrapped easily around the wrist.
One of his tattooed hands went and clicked on the lamp beside the bed. Time to get a look at the thing that had been plaguing him. His eyes shifted to look at the person now struggling beneath him. He was forced to use one of his knees to pin a thrashing thigh down.
It was a woman, that much was certain by her shape. She was wearing black clothes that covered almost all of her skin, but were tight enough so that when she moved they would clearly stay out of her way.
The effect showed off her attractively curving frame nicely, though he could tell that she didn't have an overabundance of curves like the women he saw on the streets in larger towns. He couldn't see her hair color at all, her tresses tucked neatly up under a tight black hat.
Her sapphire eyes looked up at him defiantly as she struggled even more, forcing him to actually put some thought into restraining her. His free hand grabbed her other wrist, pinning both trapped appendages on either side of her head.
A frown was coming to her lips. In the little bit of light, he could see that her skin only a few shades away from pale. She carried no weapons that he could see and didn't appear to be trying to get to any, just trying to get out of his vice-like grip.
"I take it you're the one that's been following me all day?" Law questioned lightly after taking his time examining his victim.
The woman did well to control the surprise that flitted across her eyes. She went still, having tested his ability to hold her and not found weakness. Struggling would just tire her out and stop her shoulder she find a way out later.
Law was once again surprised. The woman had some sense if she stopped thrashing for the reason he thought she had. "What brings you here?" He asked lazily when she didn't answer, a smile curling the corners of his lips. The question was innocent and, in this situation, rather funny.
She said nothing, her lips closing together in a tight line as she glared defiantly up at him. The dignity she managed to display while being pinned to a bed by a pirate was astounding. It spoke highly of whatever training she had had.
"Are you going to answer me?" he asked, this time in amusement.
Her lips twitched lightly with a smile she was holding back. Whatever she had been expecting when she got caught, this was not it. Deliberately, she shook her head once. No. She would not be answering his questions.
He feigned a sigh and cocked his head, trying to decide what to do with her. "I suppose I could just kill you," he mused, almost as if contemplating the chance of rain. The bland look on the woman's face told him that was what she had been expecting from the beginning. He chuckled openly at the reaction. Her sapphire eyes rolled.
Yes, he could kill her. But her reactions to him were amusing and, dare he think it, curious. This was not how one was supposed to react to being held down by a famous and feared pirate. The wild thrashing, yes. The sarcastic eye rolling, no.
Perhaps today's entertainment had been successful after all.
"But where would be the fun in that?" He continued, voicing his thoughts. This time she eyed him warily, her mouth still in a tight line. "That you were able to get aboard my ship suggests skill. But that just raises more questions. If you answer me, I may not kill you."
The woman did not move. It was clear to him she was trained for this kind of situation, and trained well. It was going to take some doing to get her to crack.
His face darkened as his lips curled up wickedly. "Don't think I'm above torture to get what I want," he threatened, his voice a mixture of darkness and light tones.
It sent a shiver down her spine. He could feel it as goose bumps blossomed under his fingers along her wrists. But he saw no fear in her eyes. She just looked at him with a sad and resigned sort of silence. Her lips even loosened, allowing a sigh to escape.
Still she didn't speak.
"What could possibly be so important?" He wondered aloud. This couldn't be some kind of personal mission for her; it was clearly some kind of job. But who was she working for? "You're clearly willing to die and take my answers with you."
A malicious grin spread across his face suddenly and she squirmed. When a pirate gave you that look, you run. No sane person would debate that logic, especially when considering who was giving it to her.
Suddenly, Law's hand shifted so one grabbed her shoulder and the other pulled back, his palm open. He yanked her away from the bed in the same motion and brought his hand forward, slamming it into her chest. "Mes."
Her eyes widened in surprised and alarm as she gasped. Her head snapped down to look at where he hit. She let out a cry of alarm when she saw the square shaped hole underneath her tight shirt, right where her heart should have been.
The pain occurred to her only after she had looked, as it lanced its way straight to her core. Her teeth grit and it was clear she was trying to hold on as long as she could. Unfortunately for her, the sensation was far too much and she collapsed right into his lap.
Law looked down at her for a long moment, before looking to the heart in his hand. He could easily kill her. Kill her and be done with it. Something, however, was stopping him. It was difficult to put a finger on exactly what it was.
Perhaps it was his boredom. He had certainly been hoping for something interesting to do, and here this woman shows up presenting just that. And, really, how fun would it be to have a been that had probably been trying to kill him?
Gray eyes drifted back to the unconscious form. His head cocked to the side as he contemplated the downed woman. Of course, he would kill her in the end. But in the meantime, a little fun was in order.